New Delhi: Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Thursday warned of greater economic uncertainty due to the ongoing US-China trade war, and said the conflict will significantly disrupt the global supply chain if it continues further.
Speaking at the India Economic Summit, Keat also asserted that monetary and fiscal policies can "stabilise" the global economy but structural policies need to be brought in to put it back on a growth path.
Stating that other countries are suffering "collateral damage", Keat said: "...I think that if this conflict continues, it will disrupt the global supply chain in very significant way".
"I would say that we must also be prepared for a period of greater uncertainty because it is not just a trade conflict, because what used to be about surplus and deficit has also morphed into a contest on technology and who has the better technology, and so on. And there is a risk that the global technological chain will also be broken," he said.
Asked about the steps needed to revive economies, Keat said monetary and fiscal policy can only stabilise the economy. To put the economy on a growth path, "we need structural policies, we need to change rules, regulations, rules on investment, we need to provide investors with a degree of certainty."